Matter of Time
by missbooksalot
Summary: My name is Percy Jackson. I'm sixteen years old. Until a few days ago, I was the hero who helped save Olympus from Kronos, but now I'm a twelve year old boy on a Yancy Academy school bus to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, again. Is my life crazy? Yeah, you could say that. (I don't own Percy Jackson, though that would be awesome).
1. Chapter 1

**I haven't seen a story with this plot before, so I hope I'm being somewhat original. Anyways, enjoy!**

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The sound of people's voices woke me up. I figured it was probably the Stoll brothers trying to annoy me. I noticed I felt like I was moving. Was I in a car? I snapped my eyes open to see I was in a school bus full of kids.

Sitting beside me was Grover, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw something be thrown in his curly hair. Is that sandwich pieces? I turned to see who threw it, finding the one and only Nancy Bobofit, a bully from Yancy Academy.

Suddenly, something clicked in my brain. I've been here before. This is exactly like the day we went on the class trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I wanted to ask Grover what was going on, but instead settled for, "So what's the name of the place we're going again?"

"Percy, it's the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. Brunner has been talking about this for weeks," Grover answered, looking at me like I was crazy. I was starting to think I was.

Before I could ask another question, Nancy threw some more stuff and Grover, and I started to stand up. Though I might have the body of twelve year old me, I still had faith I could fight her.

Grover pulled me down and said, "You're on probation, remember? Don't cause any trouble."

I groaned, memories of today starting to come back to me. I decided the best thing to do was repeat what I did the first time around. It's like when you get lost in a forest,they tell you to stay in place, then come up with a logical plan. Until I can figure out how to get to normal me, I need to do the same things past me did.

If only Annabeth was here to help. Current me didn't even know Annabeth yet.

When we arrived at the museum, Mr. Brunner led the tour around, Mrs. Dodds following behind. It's ironic that I used to think she wasn't human, and now I know that she isn't. In fact, today is the day I killed her. I get to kill my first monster for the first time again. What fun.

We pass by different Greek and Roman art pieces, Mr. Brunner explaining each one. I tune him out, since I already know all this. Instead, I spend the trip wondering how I got here. One second I'm in my cabin at Camp Half-blood, having just defeated Kronos and gotten together with Annabeth, the next I'm twelve years old again, reliving the day it all began.

Is this some god messing with my life? You'd think after saving them the would cut me some slack. What god could even do this?

I wished for Annabeth again, knowing that she'd have a list of gods that could've put me here and how to get out.

We'd reached the carving of Kronos eating his kids. I started feeling a little sick. After facing Kronos myself, this took on a totally different meaning than the first time. Back then, I was telling Chiron, sorry, Mr. Brunner, what I knew about the Greek myth. This time, I kept my mouth shut.

We went out to lunch, and I made sure we sat on the edge of the fountain, just like the first time.

"Can I have your apple?" Grover asked me. I gave it to him, too nervous and confused to have an appetite.

Nancy pranced over with her friends. I knew what was coming, as well as what I had to do. She dumped her half-eaten lunch all over Grover's lap. I reached out to the water in the fountain, and used it to pull her in.

"Percy pushed me!" she screamed, just like I planned. In an instant, Mrs. Dodds was next to us. I heard kids whisper around us, but I ignored them, waiting for Mrs. Dodds to finish helping Nancy out of the fountain.

Once Nancy had been calmed down, Mrs. Dodds turned on me and said, "Come with me."

"Wait! It was me who pushed her!" Grover protested. I prayed that Mrs. Dodds didn't hurt him. He was left alone the first time, but that may not mean anything.

"I don't think so Mr. Underwood," she said.

Grover kept protesting, but Mrs. Dodds would just shoot him down.

"It's okay, man. Thanks for trying," I told him, hoping to reassure him.

Nancy just smirked at me, but I didn't give her a second glance as I followed Mrs. Dodds into the building. She led me to the Greek and Roman section, which I knew was coming.

She started softly growling, but unlike last time this happened, I wasn't nervous or scared. One advantage to redoing your life, you always knew what was coming.

"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.

"So I've heard," I responded. Though that's not what I said the first time, I couldn't pass it up.

"Did you really think you would get away with it?" she asked.

I looked straight into her evil eyes and innocently said, "Get away with what?"

"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," she said, on the verge of hissing. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."

Mrs. Dodds transformed into a monster, eyes glowing and fingers talons. She grew leathery wings. She launched herself out me.

Chiron wheeled his chair into the doorway and shouted, "What ho, Percy!" as if we were in his class. He threw a pen and me, and when I grabbed it a sword appeared. Riptide, finally. My sword felt familiar in my hands, even though my body wasn't quite built for sword fighting yet.

I let instinct take over, and swung the sword at Mrs. Dodds. It cut through her with a hiss, and she vaporized into the classic yellow monster dust.

Chiron had already left the room, which didn't surprise me. I stood and took a deep breath. That wasn't even that hard. Now I just had to remember to act as ignorant as possible. Shouldn't be a problem, it is me after all.

When I went outside, it was raining. Grover was still by the fountain, as was Nancy, soaked from her bath in the fountain.

"I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt," she shouted at me.

"Who?" I asked, knowing Grover and Chiron might be listening.

"Our teacher. Duh!" she answered, looking at me like I was dumb. I really hated that, but I ignored her and instead asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds went.

"Who?" he asked, though it was obvious he was lying. Still, I tried to keep a confused look on my face. According to Annabeth, that's how my face usually looked, so I assumed I was doing a good job.

I walked over to Chiron, or Mr. Brunner as I guess I should be calling him. He was sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book just like before, trying to pretend nothing happened.

He looked up t me and said, "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."

I was reluctant to give the pen back over, knowing what was to come. But I remembered my plan, keep things just like they were the first time. So I handed the pen over and for show asked, "Sir, where's Mrs Dodds?"

He stared at me blankly and asked, "Who?"

He was certainly a lot more convincing than Grover, so I played along saying, "The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."

He frowned at me, a concerned look on his face. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there had never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling alright?"

I hoped he couldn't tell I was struggling to hold back a smile.

* * *

 **So, what do you think? Any theories on how this happened? Or where it's going?**

 **I'll try to have another chapter up soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much everyone for all the support! I'm seriously so flattered! Warning, this chapter isn't too action-packed. At least for the beginning of this story, I'm trying to match the chapters up with the original books, but that might change later on. Anyways, enjoy!**

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Now, you might be thinking "Gee Percy, you must be passing all you classes with flying colors! And I bet you've already discovered what happened and how to reverse it!"

Well...not exactly.

Though I felt confident I could probably pass my classes, especially Latin, I didn't for two reasons. One, I wanted to keep everything as close to how it originally was. Second, how suspicious would it be if I went from failing math to getting perfect scores on every test.

As for how I ended up twelve years old again, I'd made no progress. I read every book at the library about Greek myth, and couldn't find anything about time traveling demigods. And Googling "Greek time traveling demigods" was less than helpful.

As the weeks went by, I made sure to drop Mrs. Dodd references around Grover. Even if it wasn't necessary, it was a little funny to see him panic and try to lie to me. Call me mean, but you gotta admit, it's a pretty funny.

I also made sure to get expelled from Yancy Academy. Also, probably not necessary, but I wanted to keep everything as close to what happened the first time as possible. I even called Mr. Nicoll, my English teacher, an old sot, just like I did the first time around.

Eventually finals week rolled around. It was almost the end of the school year, and I was as excited as the rest of the school kids, though for a different reason. While they were ecstatic to go to their summer beach houses in the Caribbean or whatever, I was ready to get some answers.

I remembered slaving over studying for my Latin final, not wanting to disappoint Mr. Brunner. But I didn't even care about it this time. I knew he'd be proud of me eventually, assuming I could make everything back to normal.

The night before the Latin final, Grover wasn't in the dorm room, probably having his conversation with Chiron. Part of me wanted to go listen to it again, but I knew there wasn't a point, so I stayed in my room instead.

When Grover entered the room, I asked, "Where'd you go?"

"Oh, I just had a question for Mr. Brunner," he answered, not looking me in the eye. When he finally glanced up, a confused look crossed his face and he asked, "Aren't you gonna study for the final? It's a huge chunk of our grade."

I shrugged and said, "Nah. It doesn't matter anyway."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Grover asked, sounding almost defensive. "You might need to use this stuff in your life."

"I _meant_ that it doesn't matter because I'm expelled," I explained. Then, hiding a smirk I added, "Plus, it's not like I'm ever gonna need to know who the Greek god of the sea is or anything."

Grover mumbled something as he went over to his bed, grabbed his Latin book, and studied. Or maybe he was pretending, since he probably knew all of it. I went ahead and got ready for bed, actually excited for final, which I never thought would happen.

The next day, I bombed every single test. I was pretty sure I did better on them when I took them the first time, and both times I tried. Granted, this time I tried to fail, so that's probably why I did so bad.

As I left the room after my Latin exam, Mr. Brunner called me back in. I was confused until he said, "Percy, don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's...it's for the best."

I vaguely remembered this conversation, though I knew back then I was embarrassed. I just mumbled, "Okay, sir," figuring that was the best response.

He said something about it not being the right place for me, and I agreed, trying to bring up some fake tears for the act.

I must have been somewhat successful, because he said, "No, no. Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say...you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be-"

"Thanks," I said, cutting him off, then leaving the room, afraid that if I didn't I would burst out laughing at the irony of it all.

The last day at Yancy came way slower than it should've. I ignored all the other kids, stuck in my head thinking about seeing my mom again and going to camp. Not just that, but seeing Annabeth again. I knew she would have no clue who I was, but that didn't change anything.

Grover and I rode on the bus together to Manhattan, which I'd forgotten about.

"So, what are you doing this summer?" I asked Grover, trying to keep the topic away from finals.

"Oh, umm, nothing much. You know, just...um...hanging out," he answered.

"Cool," I said, trying not to laugh at his answer.

"Hey, Percy," he started, grabbing what looked to be a beat up business card out of his pocket. "It's my...summer address. In case, you know, you need to contact me."

I glanced over it, and held back a smile. It was his Camp Half-Blood keeper card. But, knowing I had to play dumb, I asked, "What's Half-"

"Don't say it outloud!" he shouted, eyes wide and glancing around, as if a monster would jump out at any moment.

"So, why would I need to contact you?" I asked. "Just to hang out in your mansion?"

He flinched at my question, and I realized it was a lot ruder sounding than I meant for it to be. "The truth is, Percy, I kinda have to protect you."

"From what?" I ask, starting to get tired of this act, which is getting too dumb for even me.

A huge grinding noise sounded from under our feet, and black smoke poured out of the dashboard, filling the entire bus. The driver cursed and told us all to get off the bus. Grover and I when out in line with everybody else.

We were on a country road, surrounded by nothing much other than trees and a fruit stand. The memory of what happens next jumped into my mind, and I almost asked Grover if we could just walk home instead.

But, to keep things as consistent as possible, I watched the old ladies at the fruit stand. The stuff on sale did look appealing: bloodread apples and cherries, apricots, walnuts. I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me they were coated in hydra poison thought.

The three ladies were knitting their huge socks, which I wish I could still see as just abnormally large socks. The fact that they were staring at me was especially unnerving.

I turned to Grover, whose face was drained of all color, and said, "Hey Grover-"

"Please tell me they aren't looking at you?" he asked.

"Yeah, weird right?" I asked. "Hey, think those sock would fit me? I'm a big fan of the blue."

"Not funny, Percy. Not at all," he said, voice trembling a little. And he was right, but past me would've made a joke of this, unaware of what's actually going on.

The "lady" in the middle took out a pair of gold and silver scissors, which looked like shears. Grover caught his breath besides me, and tried to pull onto the bus. I wanted to, but I stayed in place. The lady snipped the yarn, and I could hear the snip ringing in my ears.

Just then, the driver managed to fix the bus, causing everyone to cheer. I decided to join in, since the alternative was standing there looking panicked like Grover.

We got back on the bus, and I asked, "Hey, Grover, you alright?"

"Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?" he asked, not answering the question.

"The middle one took out her scissor and cut the yarn. But that's not that big a deal, right?" I answered, not letting on I knew anything.

"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. "I don't want this to be like the last time."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, knowing he wasn't going to answer me.

"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth," he kept mumbling. I wanted to reassure him that I lived to be at least sixteen, but I knew I couldn't do this. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I dragged my friends into this mess.

"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me," he said after he'd calmed down a bit.

"I promise, Grover, okay. Try to get some sleep," I said. Instead of listening to me, he stared out the window, a sad look of his face.

* * *

 **So, what do you think? I'm curious, what theories do you have on how Percy ended up in the past?**

 **I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can! Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I promise, I had every intention of updating earlier. But, you know, it's almost end of semester and I'm taking the ACT this weekend, so I'm stressed about that. But I stayed up late to make sure this was finished for today. And by the end of the weekend I'll have another chapter up. Anyway, enjoy!**

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Remember that promise I made to Grover? About letting him walk me home?

Yeah, so I left him there. Sorry Grover.

Part of it was because I didn't want to do things differently, but part of it was because I was tired of lying to him. I just couldn't do it anymore. Seeing him there, about to burst from the fear that I was going to die and he was going to fail again, made me want to tell him everything. I wanted to tell him that I lived through the Great Prophecy, or at least I did.

Grover set off to the bathroom when the bus stopped, just as I planned. I slipped away, crammed suitcase in tow, and waved down the first taxi I saw.

"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the taxi driver.

I spent the drive thinking about what it will be like back at home. Smelly Gabe would still be there, sadly, though I knew I could stand up to him now. And if all went as it should, he wouldn't be around for much longer.

When I entered our tiny apartment, Gabe was in the living room with his buddies, playing poker. ESPN was blasting on the TV, and chips and beer cans were scattered across the carpet. I couldn't restrain my groan.

"So, you're home," Gabe said, cigar in his mouth, face in his game.

"Mom at work?" I asked.

"Yeah," Gabe said. "You got any money?"

I quick flash of anger bursted inside me. I'd forgotten about our "guy secret", which was his term for "you supply my gambling and keep it a secret and I won't punch you". If I didn't have the body of sixth grade me, I would've taken him down then and there. But my body didn't have all the training that sixteen year old me did.

So instead, I said, "I don't have any cash."

To my shock, he responded, "You took a taxi from the bus station. Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"

I'd forgotten Smelly Gabe's ability to sniff out cash from a mile away.

I saw a flash of sympathy on Eddie's face, and he said, "Come on, Gabe. He just got here."

"Am I _right_?" Gabe repeated.

Eddie didn't respond, and the other guys didn't say anything either. I decided Gabe wasn't worth my time, I had much more important things to do, like getting back to my time. So I chucked a wad of cash at him and left before I punched him.

"Your report card came!" he shouted as I left. "I wouldn't act like such a brat!"

I slammed the door to my room, and was surprised to find it looking...not like my room at all. There were car magazines everywhere, muddy boots on my windowsill, and the place smelled like cigars, beer, and cheap cologne. I'd also forgotten about how Gabe would turn my room into his own "study" whenever I was away.

I threw my suitcase onto the bed. Guess there's no place like home.

"Percy," I heard my mom's voice say.

She opened the bedroom door, and I was filled with the first feeling of joy since I was brought back to this time. She was both totally different and exactly the same as I remembered her.

"Oh, Percy," she said as she hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"

What I wanted to say was, "more than you know," but I just hugged her back as tightly as I could. She was in her Sweet on America uniform, which was red, white, and blue, and smelled like the best sweets in the world. She'd brought me a bag of candy from the shop that she told me were free, but I'd always suspected they weren't.

We sat on my bed and she asked about my school year as I ate my candy. She ran her fingers through my hair, and I teased her for smothering me and to lay off. Secretly though, this was overjoyed to see her, and wanted to spill out all my secrets that were starting to weigh on me.

Instead, I tried to make the end of my year sound good. But when I got to the day of the museum trip, I struggled to choke back what happened. Not just Mrs. Dodds, though I probably should've told her about that, but everything else. The life I'd lived before this one.

"What is it?" my mom asked, concern all over her face. "Did something happen to you."

"Of course not, Mom," I said, not missing a beat. "I'm okay, promise."

I'm sure she could tell I was keeping something, and I hated lying to her. If she'd pushed me, I would've spilled everything, but she didn't.

"I have a surprise" she said, sounding upbeat. "We're going to the beach."

"Montauk?" I asked, though I knew the answer.

"Three nights-same cabin," she answered, her smile wide.

"When?" I asked.

"As soon as I get changed," she answered.

Just then, Gabe stomped into the room and demanded, "Bean dip, Sally? Have you not been able to hear me?"

I tensed up and started to stand, but my mom put a reassuring hand on my arm and gave me a look that offered a deal: be nice to Gabe so we could leave.

"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."

Gabe narrowed his eyes, "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"

"He won't let us go," I mumbled, vaguely remembering saying something to that extent the first time.

"Of course he will," my mom said, a soft smile on her face. "Your stepfather is just worried about money, that's all. Besides, he won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make enough seven layer dip for the whole weekend."

Gabe lightened up a bit and said, "So this money for your trip...it comes out of your clothes budget, right? And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back?"

My mom agreed, and Gabe said, "Maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."

What I really wanted to do was find Riptide and stab him with it. Though it technically would just pass right through him, I figured he was disgusting enough for Riptide to confuse him for a monster. Instead, I said, "I _sincerely_ apologize for interrupting your _remarkably important_ poker game. Please go back to it right now."

He eyes narrowed, and I suspected he was trying to decipher my sarcasm. But he responded with, "Whatever."

After Gabe left the room, my mom said, "Thank you, Percy. Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk about...whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"

I saw a flash of anxiety in her eyes, and wonder what she would think if she knew everything that had happened. But her smile returned as normal, and she ruffled hair then went to make Gabe his dip.

Hours later, my mom and I arrived at Montauk. I loved the place, Our rental cabin was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always spiders in the cabinets and sand in the sheets. But it felt almost...homey.

When we arrived, my mom almost appeared to get younger, which I noticed every time we came. We did our usual routine: cleaning, walking on the beach, feeding blue corn chips to seagulls, and munching blue candy.

When it got dark, we made a fire, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs. My mom told me stories about her life as a kid and about the books she wanted to write one day. I decided to ask about one topic that I used to always wonder about when we came here, my dad.

I knew who he really was now, but I wanted to hear my mom's story again.

"He was kind, Percy," she said, her eyes misty. "Tall, handsome, and powerful, but gentle too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes. I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."

I wished I could tell her that I knew that he could, and, in time, he would be proud of me. But I asked, "How old was? You know...when he left?"

She stared into the flames, and answered, "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."

I wanted to talk more, but I didn't want to push her. I knew all the answers to these questions, anyways, No need to put her through this. But I'd made my mind up about one thing.

I was going to change somethings. No way was my mom getting taken this time around.

That night, when my mom was fast asleep, I stayed awake. I had to be prepared if I wanted to do this. The goal: get us to Camp Half-Blood and keep my mom from getting captured. I just wasn't quite sure how to do that.

Outside, the storm started to rage. With a loud thunderclap, my mom woke. Eyes wide open, she said, "Hurricane."

Before she finished speaking, I'd stood up and threw the door open. Pounding on the door was Grover, which I knew was coming. Part of me wanted to apologize for the ditching him thing, but the bigger part of me was more focused on getting the people I cared about out of danger.

"Been searching all night," Grover gasped as I searched for my mom's purse around the cabin. "What were you thinking?"

My mother looked at me in terror and asked, "Percy, what happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"

I forced her purse on her shoulder and answered, "Pretty sure right now isn't the time, Mom. We can talk about my lying problem later. Now, let's get in the car."

As we ran to the Camaro, or in Grover's case limped, I prayed that I could come up with not only a good reason for knowing so much, but a way to make sure everyone in here made it to camp.

* * *

 **What did you think? So we're getting to the part where I'm splitting off from the original story-line a bit.**

 **So, question time!**

 **Anything specific you want to see in the future? All things from all five PJO books are up for grabs for this story. I have tons of ideas, but I want to know if there are things you really want to see.**

 **Until next time, have a wonderful day!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I did it! I finished this before the end of the weekend! I barely did it, but I did it! The next couple of weeks are going to be really crazy though, so we'll see how often I update. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon.**

 **Also, thank you SO much for the sweet comments! They seriously make my day. Also, starting now I'm going to try to respond to comments, though I don't make promises. As I said, life is gonna be crazy for a couple of weeks.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The Camaro was being battered by the storm, wind slamming and rain lashing. Every Time the lightning flashed I jumped, bracing myself for the one that will force us into the nerves were all over the place and I couldn't sit still.

"So...you two know each other?" I asked, hoping to calm my nerves.

"No exactly," Grover answered. "We've never met in person, but she knew I was watching you."

"Watching me?" I asked.

"Yeah, you know, I kept tabs on you, made sure that you were okay," Grover answered, then hastily added, "But I didn't pretend to be your friend. I really am."

I would've reassured him that I knew that, he was my best friend who I could always rely on, but I was too stressed out. Instead I said, "So you're like...a satyr? Right? Aren't those myths?"

"Was Mrs. Dodds a myth? Or the ladies at the fruit stand?" he answered.

I asked, "So this is all happening because some old ladies cut some yarn?"

"Those weren't just some random old ladies," Grover explained. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what that means-the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to...when someone's about to die."

I wanted to tell him I don't die, none of us do. That we live through much impossible circumstances than this. Before I can say anything, my mom swerves around a dark figure, jerking us.

I brace myself for the strike, and seconds later, lightning hits. There was a blinding flash, a deafening boom, and I slammed my head against the seat in front of me. I shook off the daze and the pain, adrenaline sparking my system.

"Percy!" my mom shouted.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

My mom answered, but I didn't hear her, too busy taking in our surroundings: driver-side doors stuck in mud, roof cracked, Grover unconscious, car in a ditch, Minotaur stomping his way over here.

"Mom, stay here," I say, interrupting whatever she was saying. "I'll take care of him."

"Percy, don't fight him. You don't know what you're doing. See that big tree there? Run toward it. Call for help. Get to safety," she said, voice shaking.

"I've got this, mom," I say, then climb out the passenger-side door before she can respond.

When I looked back, I saw the Minotaur. His furry body, long snout, and horns made me mad. He took my mother, and he wasn't about to do it again. If I had Riptide, I would have him gone in no time, but that wasn't an option. I had to use my smarts. If Annabeth was there, she would've said we were doomed, then come up with a genius plan herself.

"Hey, bull guy, hope you like losing! This won't be the first time I beat you, or the last for that matter!" I shouted. He swerved to me, maybe from my words, but more likely from my smell. I started to run toward Camp Half-Blood, leading him away from my mom and Grover.

He started to gain on me, and I jumped to the side, remembering how bad he was at changing direction. He kept going, the skidded to a stop and turned to me, a deadly look in his eyes. We played this game for a while, and he never seemed to run out of energy. I wish I could say the same thing. My body had never fought a monster before, except for Mrs. Dodds, which didn't take much endurance.

Unlike last time, I didn't have red rain jacket with me. Though I'm not sure how much that actually had to do with my victory. I needed to end this fight, and fast.

"Percy!" I heard someone shout from behind me. I turned to see my mom and Grover. Panic bubbled inside me. I couldn't have this monster take her again. None of this was going to plan. Grover should still be unconscious.

"Go back!" I yelled as I leaped away from another Minotaur attack. "I'll take care of this."

"Percy, it's my job to protect you," Grover said. They were close enough they didn't need to shout.

"Get my mom back to camp," I told him. "It's me he wants. I'll keep him distracted."

Before anyone else could say anything, the Minotaur charged again, his eyes glaring and voice snarling. Time seemed to slow down. I heard my mom's gasp and Grover's whimper of fear. I hurled myself toward my mom and shoved her out of the line of fire. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the Minotaur's horns slam into Grover's chest.

I felt myself go numb. All I could tell myself is that this isn't happening, I could fix this, any second now I'd open my eyes and I'd be at Montauk or Yancy or the Poseidon Cabin and everything would be okay.

The Minotaur shook his head and flung Grover's limp body. Then he turned to me and my mom, and anger replaced the numbness. I charged at him, then launched myself straight up, kicking off the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in mid air, and landing on his neck.

The monster shook his head trying to get me off, just like he had with Grover. I grasped onto one of his horns with a deadly grip. He suddenly jerked to a stop, and turned to face my mom, her smell apparently just now reaching him. I felt himself brace for the charge, and before he could, I pulled on the horn with all my might, pouring all my sadness and anger into it.

I was rewarded with a satisfying _snap_ , and held the horn. The Minotaur howled in pain, and flung me off. My head slammed into the ground, and I felt like my brain was pulverized. Part of me wanted to lie there and give up, but the larger part wanted to stop this beast before he did anymore damage.

That large part of me forced me to stand. The Minotaur's eyes were trained on my mom again, and he charged. My mom managed to stumble out of the way, and with a burst of speed I caught up to the monster. I drove the broken horn in my hand into his side, and with a wail, he disintegrated into dust.

A deafening silence filled the area, the rain having stopped. My head was pounding, and I was on the verge of collapsing. Before I could, I remembered Grover. I scanned the ground for his body. When I caught sight of him, I staggered over to him.

The sight of his body made me sick to my stomach. Blood covered his unnaturally pale skin, a wound right where his heart is.

"Grover," I said, praying he would wake up and say something. "Grover!"

I dully felt a hand on my arm, and turned to see my mom. She placed her other hand on his neck, checking for a pulse. A few seconds later, she shook her head and looked at me, her eyes filled with sadness. Unable to keep it back any longer, I turned to the side and threw up, tears streaming down my face.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," I mumbled to myself, voice shaking. "He isn't supposed to be dead. This is all my fault."

My mom put a reassuring hand on my shoulder and said, "Percy, this is not your fault."

I struggled to stand, hardly able to feel my legs. "We have to get his body to camp," I said.

"Percy, someone will come back from him later," my mom said, helping me remain upright. "Let's just worry about getting you there."

"No!" I cried, trembling. ""I have to be the one who takes him there. Please, mom?"

Reluctantly, she nodded. She shoveled up his lifeless body, and we walk to the camp entrance. Well, she walked, I stumbled, needing her help every once in awhile to keep from falling. I couldn't fully process anything, hollow with shock and grief,

Eventually, we reached the barrier, and my mom said something to me. I couldn't hear her though because everything started to sway and I collapsed.

* * *

 **So, um, what do you think?**

 **Yeah, sorry if you love Grover, but...yeah. We are gonna start diverging from the original story a bit. In fact, I've been planning ahead a bit and this is going in a slightly different direction than I planned, but I'm okay with it.**

 **I'll update soon (I hope). See you next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm gonna warn you now, this chapter is pretty low in the action department. It turns out that chapter 5 in the actual Lightning Thief is full of a lot of explaining stuff to Percy. So I skipped most of that, since both he and us know what Camp Half-Blood is all about.**

 **I'm not sure when I'm gonna update next because I have finals next week so I have a lot of studying to do. But we'll see.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Surprisingly, I didn't have any dreams. I was starting to think that this time travel thing meant no more crazy dreams.

I woke up a couple of time, disoriented. Once, a girl with curly blond hair leaned over me, spoon feeding me food. Even half asleep, I recognized her as Annabeth. I tried to say her name, but I couldn't get any words out.

"What will happen at the summer solstice?" she asked me, her voice music to my ears. I attempted to answer, but only weird grunting sounds came out. I fell back asleep before I could hear her say anything else.

When I finally came to, I was sitting in a desk chair on a huge porch. There were green meadows in the distance, and she smell of the strawberry fields filled the air. It felt like I'd traveled back in time, which I guess I had. But unlike most of this expedition, I could sit back and enjoy my time here, not panic about trying to get back.

Then memories came rushing back to me. The Minotaur. Grover's corpse. Me passing out at the border. Pain and guilt teared though my chest. I took a deep breath and tried to stand, but was hit with a slight wave of dizziness. My body clearly wasn't used to being tossed around by monsters. It'll get used to it though.

Or will it? If Grover can die, what else can change this time around? Everything could be different. It looked like my plan of just coasting though wouldn't work.

Footsteps sounded from behind me, and when I turned I saw Annabeth. She looked different than she did in my old time, which I guess isn't that much of a surprise. A piece of me wanted to spill everything that had happened, but I also knew that if I did she would think I was crazy.

"Hey, I'm Percy," I decided to say, though my voice came out sounding scratchy.

"I know," Annabeth answered. "You talk in your sleep."

I cracked a smile and said, "I've heard I drool too."

"That's for sure," she laughed. She picked up a cup off a side table and said, "Drink this. It's nectar, the drink of the gods. It'll help heal you."

I grabbed it from her and took a sip. The taste of my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies bursted in my mouth, and warm energy flowed through me. I went ahead and played dumb asking, "Drink of the gods? What do you mean?"

She hesitated, then said, "Chiron will explain it all to you. We should actually go talk to him now."

I stood up, ready to go. Before we left, I exclaimed, "Wait! Where's my mom?"

Annabeth gave me a reassuring smile, which shocked me because I remember Annabeth not being my biggest fan at first, and said, "She went back home. Don't worry, she's safe."

I nodded and asked, "And what about Grover's…" I choked up at the end. It felt as if something was trying to climb out of my throat.

"We gave it to the satyrs," she said, voice trembling. "I'm sorry. He was a friend of mine too."

Tears started to form in my eyes, and I tried to blink them away. "It's all my fault."

"Don't say that," Annabeth said, her voice soft. "You're lucky you got out alive. Speaking of which…"

She walked across the porch, grabbed something off a table, and threw it at me. I managed to catch it, and upon inspecting it I saw it was the Minotaur horn. When I looked at it though, I didn't feel pride because I saved my mom, I felt guilt for killing Grover. I wanted to throw it out, but didn't, in case it was useful later.

"Let's go to Chiron," Annabeth said, then left without another word, assuming I would follow.

I did. As we rounded the building, the sight of Camp Half Blood lifted my spirits. All the cabins were exactly as I remembered, and there were plenty of campers, some of which I recognized. Sitting on the front porch was Chiron and Mr. D. The first time this happened, they were playing pinochle, but I didn't see any cards.

I almost called to Chiron, but caught myself before I did. I was supposed to think he was Mr. Brunner and have no clue Mr. D was a god. So I shouted, "Mr. Brunner!"

He turned and smiled at me, saying, "Ah, good, Percy."

He offered me a seat next to Mr. D, which I took. Mr. D sighed, "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."

If any of the other gods had said this to me, I might've been scared, but I wasn't afraid of Mr. D.

"Now, you've already met Annabeth," Chiron said. "She's the one who nursed you back to health. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."

She nodded and left. I almost called for her to stay, but didn't.

"So…" I said, unsure how to start. "You, um, work here, Mr. Brunner?"

"I'm afraid Mr. Brunner was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron," he said, and I almost sighed aloud out of relief. I'd been so close to slipping up and calling him Chiron at Yancy many times. "I must say, Percy. I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."

I really didn't feel like listening to an explanation of the gods and why Chiron came to teach me. I knew I needed it for my cover, but what I really wanted to do was figure out how to fix things. But I knew I couldn't just expect everything to play out like a script and be a breeze like I'd though. It was time to make some changes.

But, since I still wanted to keep my cover, I asked, "What is this place? And why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach...me?"

Mr. D snorted, "I've been asking the same question."

I almost teased him about how he couldn't know what this place was, but figured I should try to keep the amount of gods pissed off at me to a minimum. If I remembered correctly, the number was already way too high and I hadn't even started changing stuff yet.

"Percy, did your mother tell you nothing?" Chiron asked.

"She didn't say much," I answered. "Just that my father wanted me to come here. That if I came I would have to stay here. That she didn't want to let me go."

"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how the usually get killed."

"Well, I'm afraid the usual orientation film won't be sufficient," Chiron sighed.

"There's an orientation film?" I asked, even though I was well aware of the answer.

"Well, Percy," Chiron started, ignoring the question, "you know you're friend Grover is...was a satyr. You know you killed a Minotaur, which is no small feat. What you may not know is that there are great powers at work in your life. Gods- the forces you call the Greek gods- are very much alive."

I waited a moment, pretending to let it sink in, then said, "So those gods we talked about in Latin, they're all real?"

"Yes, they are," Chiron said. "And I'd be careful what you say about them, considering one is here right now."

"Mr. D?" I asked, forcing my voice to sound shocked. "You're...Dionysus?"

"Of course," Mr. D said rolling his eyes. "My father sent me to this stupid summer camp for little brats like you all because of that thing with the wood nymph. He said to me, 'Be a better influence. Work with the youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha! I'd like to see him try to deal with you insufferable children one of these days."

Once he finished his rant, Mr. D got up and said, "Well, I'm tired. I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And remember your manners."

Mr. D left the porch, and once he was gone I asked Chiron, "What happened to Grover's...body?"

He sighed and a sad look crossed his face as he answered, "The body was given to the satyrs. When they die, satyrs are usually reincarnated as a plant. They say it's there way of returning to nature."

I nodded, tears forming in my eyes again. All I wanted to do was curl up in Cabin three and be alone for a little while. Instead, I kept up my charade and asked, "Who are you, Chiron? Who...who am I?"

He rose from the wheelchair, letting his blanket drop. I tried to fake shock as he emerged from his special chair as a centaur with his bottom half a horse and his top half a person.

"Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Now let's go, I've been cooped up in that chair so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep."

* * *

 **So, what did you think?**

 **Also, I want some thoughts on who you think is going on the quest with Percy and Annabeth. After all, Grover obviously can't go.**

 **Have a great day!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So, remember like 4 month ago when I said I'd update the next week. Um...oops. You might be wondering why I haven't updated in a while, and while I could say my life has been crazy, which is true, the main reason is that I lost inspiration and interest in this story. But I have a second wind, and am pumped to start writing again, This chapter is pretty short and doesn't have much to it, mostly because I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.**

 **Here is the thing, I looked back on my past planning, and found out past me was super conflicted on how everything should go down. So, I've decided that I'm gonna put some questions here for you guys to answer, if you want to, on how the story should go. If you are reading this in the far future, or simply don't care, you can keep scrolling, I promise there is something I wrote down there somewhere. But I would really appreciate some feedback. Answer one question or answer them all. Put it in a review or PM me. Do whatever you please! Also, I'm gonna get better about responding to reviews and PMs, I swear.**

 **So here are the questions:**

 **1\. How close do you want this too the original story line? Kind of a vague question, but like, should it closely resemble the plot line, or should I just be like "screw that stuff"?**

 **2\. What are your feelings on OCs in here? Yes or no? To be honest, most of the time when I read fanfiction I find that I don't like OCs much, but I wanted to know people's thoughts?**

 **3\. Canon couples? New couples? Oc couples? All the romance questions.**

 **4\. Any certain monsters/gods you want to show up?**

 **5\. Any specific characters? I never realized how many Percy Jackson characters there where till I started writing a list of them all. I hope to at least mention a lot of them, but which ones are you DYING to see?**

 **6\. So the whole fighting Kronos thing, should that still happen when Percy is 15/16? I feel like it'll be odd to have like 11 year old Percy fighting Kronos. Which actually leads me to my next question...**

 **7\. Should I have Luke go evil and become Kronos? Since I decided to start writing this I've been trying to decide if I want Percy to stop Luke from going evil early on.**

 **Wow, that was a lot of questions. Sorry if you found that annoying, but this is my first fanfiction and I'm not the best at this stuff. I just want some outside opinions.**

 **Promise, next chapter will NOT be this boring! And hopefully funnier! Already have ideas brewing in my brain.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chiron gave me a tour of the camp and I attempted to fake surprise and wonder. Not that I don't love camp, it's like home to me. But I know my normal reaction is nothing like when I first saw everything. But I pretended be amazed at the magically grown strawberry field and shocked at the idea of monster's in the forest, as well as a summer camp that required a sword and shield. I asked question about the cabins and protested the idea that I was the son of an ancient Greek god.

It was oddly exhausting. I was starting to think I deserved an Oscar.

Campers looked at me and whispered as I walked by, and I ignored them best I could. A small part of me wanted to wave and call them each out by name, but I figured that with the soon-to-be reveal of me being Poseidon's son, I would already be freakish enough.

Annabeth was in front of cabin eleven reading a book when we arrived. I recognized it as an architecture book. When she looked up I smiled at her, but she just gave me a blank look. It kind of disappointed me, I was hoping we could skip the part of our relationship where we disliked each other and just start out being best friends.

"Annabeth, I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?" Chiron asked.

"Yes, sir," she answered.

"Cabin eleven," Chiron said, gesturing toward the dinky building in front of me. "Make yourself at home."

I looked at the cabin, with it's peeling brown paint and caduceus over the doorway, and instantly knew I would never make myself at home here. More than anything I just wanted to go into the Poseidon cabin and curl up in a ball on my bunk.

Instead I stepped into the cabin, a smile plastered onto my face. The cabin was packed with campers, most of which were undetermined. My eyes passed over everyone inside, and when I saw one certain person the smile on my face started to falter. No other than Luke Castellan was standing there. Many emotions went through me: anger and shock being the main ones. I had been mentally preparing for this since I realized I would be living my life over again, but thinking about seeing him and actually breathing in the same room as him are two different things.

"So...I'm Percy Jackson, hi," I said, giving a small wave. I was hoping to appear cool and confident, but I was sure I looked like a lame loser.

Someone asked if I was regular or undetermined, and behind me Annabeth told them I was undetermined. The cabin filled with groans, and I was tempted to just say, "Don't worry, any day now I'll get claimed by the sea god who swore not to have children because they would be too powerful!"

But I figured that would freak everyone out too much, so I stayed silent as Luke said something about undetermined being a part of the cabin. I tried to block memories of him, especially in his final moments when he sacrificed himself.

"This is Luke," Annabeth told me, her voice sounding the way it always used to sound when talking about Luke. An odd feeling of jealousy coursed through me. "He's your counselor for now."

I knew that originally, I had asked a ton of dumb questions, causing Annabeth be annoyed at me. Instead of that, I just mumbled, "Cool."

Apparently no matter what I did I was bound to annoy Annabeth, because she said, "Come on, I'll show you the volleyball court," then proceeded to grab my wrist and drag me outside. Even though I could hear people of the Hermes cabin laughing at me, I still relaxed, worried if I was in there with Luke any longer I would say or do something I shouldn't.

* * *

 **Told you it was a short chapter. Please consider some of the stuff I talked about above, and till next time, have a great day!**


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